J C Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> My line is that the poster retains copyright, but not control over
> the post, due to the fact that he explicitly relinquished those
> rights for that post when he sent it to the list.
Copyright without control is a meaningless concept. If you are not allowed
to grant and withhold permission to distribute a work, then you do not have
effective copyright for it. One might argue that this is true for Internet
postings in general, but no more so than for a poem on a milk carton.
Listowners and digesters commonly assert "compilation copyright" over their
particular sequences and assemblies of others' writing, even where the
latter is in the public domain. But they are in no position to assert,
waive or otherwise mess with the INDIVIDUAL copyright each member holds in
her or his postings. A listowner may say "you own your words," but this is
purely informational, like saying "the sun came up today," and not a
revocable statement of policy. The listowner might as well say "Danny
DeVito owns your words" and it would have the same force and effect, i.e.
none.
